Life Cycle Assessment
Stance 29 1: The first comprehensive cradle-to-grave analysis of a bicycle
Understanding the carbon footprint of bicycles is paramount for grasping their true environmental impact and pinpointing areas where emissions can be slashed. While bicycles are often touted as eco-friendly alternatives, conducting a carbon inventory allows us to dissect emissions across their lifecycle—from materials acquisition to disposal—highlighting opportunities for reduction. Our Stance 29 1 full suspension mountain bicycle case study stands out as an exemplary model, representing the industry's first bicycle with a comprehensive carbon footprint inventory. This practice and inventory provide a solid foundation for assessing the carbon footprint of various bicycle models and guiding us during the design phase of future models.
A Cradle-to-Grave Approach Across 1500+ Activities
Giant Group employs the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) methodology for evaluating the environmental impacts of our products and services throughout their entire lifecycle. The LCA provides insights into energy consumption, emissions, resource depletion, and waste generation, crucial for sustainable decision-making. Applied to our Stance 29 1 bicycle model, the LCA considered five key stages:
1) materials acquisition, 2) manufacturing, 3) transportation and distribution, 4) product usage, and 5) disposal.
After assessing 1529 activities across all stages, including 250+ activities from five of our key raw materials suppliers, Stance 29 1’s carbon footprint amounted to 275.24 kg CO2e. The material acquisition stage accounted for approximately 85.1%, while manufacturing contributed 11.9%, with the remaining 3% distributed across later stages. Giant Group’s hotspot analysis identified the materials acquisition stage (aluminum alloy related materials emitting the most) and the manufacturing stage (electricity and natural gas usage) as the most significant, resulting in our top three improvement projects. We will be focusing our efforts on reducing energy consumption and emissions reduction.
Material Insights
Targeting Raw Materials Accounting for the Majority of Total Carbon Footprint
Stance 29 1’s first stage of the LCA examined our materials acquisition from five key suppliers, considering environmental impacts like extraction methods and transportation emissions to ensure the accuracy of its carbon footprint. This first stage aims to identify opportunities to improve sourcing-related environmental impact, such as ethical sourcing or selecting materials with lower carbon footprints. Our management team has prioritized researching and testing the use of recycled materials like recycled aluminum alloys and recycled carbon fiber to reduce the overall carbon footprint of the product. We are likewise enhancing our suppliers’ sustainability awareness and capabilities.
Our carbon emissions hotspot analysis revealed that aluminum alloy (87.4%), plastic rubber (7.2%), and steel (1.8%) were the most used materials, presenting key areas for improvement.
Manufacturing Insights
Key Bicycle Industry Players Leading the Low-Carbon Transition
Assessing supply chain impact is challenging due to its complexity, especially in aligning data sources with various suppliers. At Giant Group, we recognize this challenge and have taken proactive steps to address it. We've established a Supplier CSR Code of Conduct and implemented an Enhanced Supplier Sustainability action plan to ensure our suppliers uphold ethical and sustainable practices in line with EU regulations, which prioritize lowering emissions.
For the Stance 29 1 LCA project, we collaborated up with five key suppliers to assess the carbon emissions associated with our bicycle components while gaining insight into the suppliers’ emissions data at an organizational level. This initiative not only enabled us to pinpoint areas for carbon reduction efforts but also fostered awareness and competency regarding carbon inventories among the suppliers. Achieving a positive environmental impact requires alignment among all stakeholders.
Carbon Reduction Plan
Reducing 40kg of CO2 Emissions per Bike by 2030
At Giant Group, we recognize our responsibility to enhance sustainability awareness among our suppliers and to communicate our progress to customers. Our targets include reducing CO2 emissions by 40kg per bicycle by 2030 and achieving 100% plastic-free packaging, utilizing recycled and recyclable materials as part of our holistic ESG strategy. To meet these goals, we've implemented a sustainable design matrix guiding the development of products with low carbon emissions, non-toxic materials, energy efficiency, and circular sustainability. Prioritizing circularity, we've also set key performance indicators such as increasing revenue from services and repairs to 26% by 2030 and ensuring 100% recyclable materials in own brand component saddles.
2030 Goals
40kg
per bike
100%
plastic-free
26%
revenue from services & repairs
100%
recyclable materials
Inspiring Change: Redefining the Bicycle Industry's Environmental Impact
Giant Group is committed to leading the low-carbon transition in the industry by implementing sustainable practices and fostering collaboration with our stakeholders across the value chain. Looking ahead, we are excited to develop more low-carbon bicycle models, integrating cradle-to-grave circular economy principles into every aspect of our operations. Join us in our journey towards a greener future.